Intel Committee Leaders Push to Outmatch China in Tech Development.

TLDR:

Key Points:

• Senators Rubio and Warner are calling for stronger actions to protect U.S. critical technologies from adversaries like China.
• They emphasize the importance of implementing an export-control regime, specifically targeting the biotechnology sector.

U.S. Senators Marco Rubio and Mark Warner, Vice Chairman and Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, have sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo urging for more robust measures to safeguard critical U.S. technologies, especially in sectors like biotechnology, from foreign adversaries. The letter highlights the ongoing efforts of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to target American technology and innovation for their own gain, emphasizing the need for stricter export controls.

In their letter, the senators express concern that the Department of Commerce has not effectively utilized its existing tools, including export controls, to prevent adversary access to U.S. technology, capital, data, and talent in critical sectors. They call for a comprehensive approach to protecting American technology, investment, data, and talent, emphasizing the need for controls specifically in the biotechnology sector, similar to those in place for the semiconductor industry.

The senators cite the PRC’s ongoing efforts to acquire U.S. innovation and data to achieve technological dominance and undermine U.S. economic and military leadership. They highlight the recent addition of certain entities, like BGI Group and WuXi Biologics, to the Entity List as steps in the right direction, but stress that more needs to be done to prevent PRC biotechnology companies with ties to the military from operating freely within the U.S.

Overall, Rubio and Warner push for immediate action to protect U.S. interests in critical technology sectors, especially biotechnology, given the growing threats posed by adversarial nations like China. Their letter serves as a call to strengthen export control measures and safeguard American technologies from falling into the wrong hands.